Pictures of Seb’s new shooting rest have gone to shooters around the world but we don’t just have pictures – we have a rest!  What were your first thoughts when you saw it? Oh no – more money to spend!

Seb has actually sent out a few rests for evaluation and Fox Firearms – the UK importer for Seb’s products – has one for us to play with, for Seb wants as many of us as possible to use the rest and come back with any comments and modifications which will improve the product before it goes into full production.

So, if you already have a Seb NEO – as I have – will you be inspired to buy this beauty?

First off – wow it looks very blingy!  Too blingy?  Well, that’s all down to personal taste but the NEO-X will be available in all black, all blue, all red, or combination of blue-black, red-black, orange/gold-black. Some components will remain polished – or you can have the whole lot polished. But let’s get beyond the bling and have a look at what’s new.

Firstly, the major improvement for me – and I suspect many others – is the swiveling top (like we used to have on the very first Seb rest). Setting-up the rest to be absolutely square with the rifle’s fore-end is essential to Benchresters and F Class shooters.  Not too much of a bind to get off your stool at the bench to move the rest slightly but, getting up off the grass is another matter – and for this reason, some shooters are happy to ignore slight mis-alignment (at their peril) – if the fore-end is riding on the corners of the bag, the sand will soon shift around and leave you with side to side ‘play’ on the fore-end – not good!

There is already an American company offering a swiveling top upgrade for the old NEO so maybe this is what prompted Seb to act.

I have weighed the new rest and it is 8.4 kg with joystick. As a Benchrester, weight doesn’t really bother me but, if you are lugging gear from point to point, as the F Class shooters often need to do, it’s a different matter.

Similarly, if you travel abroad by air, a light and compact rest is welcome and SEB has incorporated some clever features to help here. The legs easily fold away without the need for spanners or Allen keys and the feet have a very trick detach feature to save laborious unscrewing . In storage mode, it measures 6 inches by 14 inches by 10.5 inches with the carry handle on the top.

With the legs fully open, the base has extra wide footprint of 16.5 inches and 14.5 inches front to rear – centre to centre of the levelling screws.

And whilst on the subject of feet – our rest included large 3 inch diameter feet for grassed firing-points or, screws with spikes for bench tops. Ideally the benchrest spikes should be used with ‘super feet’ (now compulsory on many benchrest ranges) as they are not hardened steel and should not be hammered into the concrete bench-top!

The layout of the controls has changed quite a lot from the old NEO but they are easily sussed if you already own a NEO. Where we used to have two knobs to raise the bridge – one on either side, we still have the two knobs but both are on the left-hand column so that you can still access the rise and fall knob if you choose to run your rest back to front (i.e up for down on the joystick) as some did with the old NEO. The columns can be locked after adjustment with just one lever – rather than the two knurled knobs on the old NEO.

Also included is a ‘driver’ – a long Allen key that will fit the hex. in the centre of the elevation knob and permit the prone shooter to adjust the rest’s bridge height without coming out of position.

The swiveling top can actually swivel a full 360 degree circle and once aligned can be locked with another lever.  Some have suggested that these two identical levers on the bridge could be swapped over – I can see that but it didn’t bother me – once you know, you know!  The width of the bag ‘holder’ can be adjusted to accept a six-inch wide bag as on the NEO MAX.

Aside from the swiveling top, the next thing I noticed was the massive amount of travel available – side to side and up and down. Is this important?  Maybe not so much for benchrest, where not much changes on a concrete bench but on grass, the rest or the back-bag can ‘sink’ during the course of a shoot and it’s annoying to have to stretch forward to adjust the height of the bridge during a shoot.  The increased ‘side to side’ may also help with windflag observation – where some flags may previously have been out of your scope’s field of view they can now easily be picked up. The larger joystick travel will also cover the air-rifle and rimfire targets which the old NEO wouldn’t cover at close range.

Lowest bridge setting is approx 5.3 inches to a highest of over 12 inches – dependent of course on the actual front bag used. And talking of front bags, there is some debate as to whether two or three-piece bags are legal in some Benchrest disciplines but Seb has already addressed this and a one-piece bag (several in fact) will be available with a dedicated holder.

There are some other interesting bits n bobs – like the joystick extension. You can add another section to bring the joystick knob close to your trigger – if that’s how you like it.

Note from Seb – I recommend twisting the joystick for two or three full rotations and move the joystick in rapid circular motions (any directions) before use. This will release the initial friction in the bearing mechanism and will make the joystick action even smoother.

The NEO-X has a new and more refined internal mechanism and gives extra smooth joystick action. The tension adjustment is also easier. Adjustment is via one tension screw facing the shooter (in ‘normal mode’ up for up) for the vertical friction. One other in the front is for horizontal friction. Turning in deeper gives more tension – think about a few ‘clicks’ on your rifle scope (one at a time) when adjusting.

Left-hand shooters are also catered for. The standard configuration is elevation knobs on the left-hand side and single leg in the front – toward the target (Option 1). This is the preferred configuration for right-handed shooters. On request, the NEO-X can be ordered with Option 2, i.e. elevation knobs on the right-hand side and the single leg in the front – for left handed shooters.

The rest is equipped with a carrying handle, which fixes to the top of the columns. The joystick and the hex-driver can be clipped to the carrying handle for storage – which will also minimize the chance of losing or forgetting to bring them!  Using the carrying handle also ensures the levelling screws/spikes are facing down – not digging in your leg!

The NEO-X comes with:

Your choice of front bag – for F Class or Benchrest

A soft carrying case

All necessary Allen keys

A spare (longer) Teflon tip for the uplift springs.

Aluminum F-Class feet 3 inch diameter are available on request, for those who seek a lighter rest.

Joystick extension 3, 6 or 9 inches or shorter joystick would also be available on request

The NEO-X in use

I used the rest in a 1000 yard benchrest competition and three other competitors (all NEO owners) also had a go with it. Prior to that, it went down to Bisley for a few F Class shooters to try.  We were all very happy with the new features of the NEO-X and with the easy of setting up and especially the swivel top.

The rack and pinion system with new ‘cross-gear’ mechanism allows the user to adjust the height of the rest-bridge easily and rapidly from either side, either by hand (or using the ‘driver’ when shooting prone. I didn’t need this on the bench).

You can leave the bridge unlocked whilst shooting according to Seb but it seemed best to lock it as you would with an old NEO but with the NEO-X it’s just one lever not two knobs.

The joystick action of the rest can be adjusted – from very light to a bit stiff – rapidly and easily using the supplied 4mm Allen key. I like mine smooth – a bit like stirring thick cream – and it was creamy smooth. Benchresters are attempting to get their five shots off in about 15 seconds – to beat the wind – so smooth, rapid ‘back on aimpoint’ is essential.

There are two uplift springs that can be accessed from the bottom of the oval shaped body/disc. These uplift springs act like a counterweight, to give upward force to counter-balance the weight of the rifle. Deeper (turning clockwise) increases the upward pressure.

This rest is set with two uplift springs with shorter Teflon pieces and it will work for any rifle weighing from 15 to about 25 lbs. Use one spring only (either side) for a lightweight rifle say under 10 lbs.

The short Teflon piece gives a lighter upward force. The long ones will give greater upward force.

Important – these Allen grub-screws can only be turned in to a maximum of 4 mm – do not go deeper – it would restrict the vertical travel of the joystick. An Allen key is supplied. For really heavy rifles – 35lbs upwards – the use of a counterweight is advised.

The NEO-X improved bridge with one piece aluminium block has reference marks of 2, 3, 4 and 5 are incised on the top to aid symmetry in setting up for various rifle fore-end widths. The side plates that support the front bag are similar to the old NEO. Knurled screws either side increase side pressure on the rifle’s fore-end. Small bubble levels are added on the top (and a circular bubble level is also recessed into the centre of the base).  Useful as these bubble levels are, the sand in the front bag can shift during firing so, useful for initial set-up but trust the bubble level on your rifle as a final check.

I didn’t mind the two-piece supplied front bag but I do prefer a one-piece bag on my own NEO.  Seb’s two and three-piece front bags work for some but you will see a lot of NEOs with replacement one-piece bags. Seb’s bags are quite ‘solid’ – there should be movement/deflection on a front bag and a ‘too solid’ front bag is often the cause of ‘vertical’. Two or three-piece bags or a one-piece front bag will be available when ordering.

Some user comments have already got back to Seb and he comments:

1. Yes I will interchange the position of the bridge locking levers.

2. Will also improve the carrying handle and the clip-on joystick holder.

3. Possibly to reduce the total weight by 1 lbs or so, some people still need lighter rest for travelling, the base is stable enough for this reason.

3. Lower side tension of the front bag, or a bit lower side plates and bag as well.

4. Will put 45 degree bevel on the leg insert both sides, also on the bottom of the legs so the user can put the levelling screws in reverse position when storing.

5. Possibly a flexible joint to put on the long hex driver. 

6. Possibly to remove the small bubble levels on the top and only use the one on the base as levelling reference.

7. Will have option for left-handed shooters by reversing the twin posts so that the elevation control would be on the right hand side, with the left and right legs still on shooter’s side. (Just in case the lefty wants to use the single leg on his/her side, he/she will get the “standard” rest for right handed).

Will start to produce the components soon. I do hope that we could finish some before Christmas.

Thanks to Seb www.sebrests.com and Fox Firearms www.foxfirearmsuk.com for the loan of this remarkable product